Antarctic Field  training  

As part of our antarctic field training, we had to learn how to do several things:

Pitch a Polar tent and build a snow shelter (which was also part of our summer training but it was a good time to refresh our skills on camp management.), cooking facilities, how to use different types of radios for communication ..etc.

Learn how to walk through crevasse fields. Actually, its more about how to avoid walking through them if possible. Crevasses are everywhere down here but most of the time you walk over them without ever knowing (unless of course you're the instructor or guide and then its your job to know). Crevasses are created when the deep snow on a hillside starts to slip down the hill under its own weight. As it peals away from the hill it creates a slot across the hill (usually) and this becomes a crevasse opening. As the crevasse ages it might open up more or collapse. Some of the big ones are accessible to people like ourselves. One of the bigger ones at the moment is called the Imax and its located about 10km from Scott Base only walking distance from "Room with a View".

Simple mountaineering skills and Prussic up a rope. That means if you fall down a crevasse and you're still conscious, you should be able to get yourself back out again using a couple bits of very strong cord and the safety line you are (should still be) attached to. It is a reasonably easy technique once you have been shown how.  In the photo below we went to try out our rope skills and prussicking technique on some steep ice cliffs.

Antarctic field training at the ice falls

How to fit and use crampons, correct use of ice axes,  and many other bits of mountaineering equipment including climbing harnesses. Crampons are just bits of metal you can strap to your boot soles so that you don't slip on the ice, etc. It's a bit like fitting chains to your car tires for traction. They can even supply you with instep crampons, which are far smaller and fit into the instep or your boot, then tie up like normal crampons. Its good to understand how different types of crampons effect your mobility on ice and snow.  In some conditions they can be more of a hindrance than a help.

Sledding skills. Tying up loads on large sledges and towing them with snowmobiles.

As I was saying about winter training, they allow us a bit of time at the end of the summer period to train, and have a bit of fun and relaxation in the process. By taking us to these crevasses we get a chance to learn new skills and put them to use, as long as the crevasses don't crumble and kill us under hundreds of tons of snow and ice, never to be found again. Antarctic New Zealand wouldn't like that. They would have to find more "winter over" staff at short notice, which could be really difficult !!

Makings of a Crevasse

Crevasses are created when a solid block of snow (or ice) is stressed in more than one direction.  Normally created on hillsides as the weight of snow slips down the hill and the bottom half peals away from the top half or in areas where there is more than one ice sheet on the move, and the two sheets create friction against each other.
When these situations happen an opening will occur, often well below the level of the ground or open to the outside world, but often covered with bridges of snow.  The bridges above the crevasses can be treacherously thin and hide the danger below.

Entrance to a crevasse. Notice the size of the ice boulders  that have dropped from the ceiling in the past.  
In the picture above you can see the two sides of the entrance to the crevasse but the bridge above is thick enough at the moment to walk across without fear of falling into it, (you hope !! ). Entrance to these crevasses was easy easily done through an opening at one end, but you still need to proceed with caution. What I was standing on was not necessarily the bottom of the crack that had developed, it may have been just a small plug of snow strong enough to walk on.

On this trip, Dave was our guide and instructor. Then there was Hermione, Steve, Jonathan and me. Hermione and Jonathan were semi experienced mountaineering people. Steve and I where both new to it so we just kept our mouths shut and learned alot in a very short time.

Looking Into a Crevasse
 So !! Do you getting a feeling for why they call it the Imax? I haven't done any alteration to the picture. What you see is what it looked like. The light just disappears into the end. Its also very cold, very still and very blue. An absolutely amazing place to see for yourself; nature at its best. The name Imax was given to it by the TV crew who found it a few years ago and is named after a large type of picture theater.

Looking around inside a crevasse..... totally awesome !!  

  Dave was our guide on this trip. His experience in Antarctica has been gained over the 4 full years he has been down here (not consecutively) as well as a summer season in the early 80s. As you can see I altered the left photo colour slightly  from the original (away from the normal blue light) to give you a good idea of how we were roped to each other for safety. Just because we are standing on snow doesn't mean its the bottom of the crevasse and you still have to watch your step. It may be a beautiful place, but you don't want to get to complacent and die here. Notice the walls of the crevasse are slightly curved, it is very typical of the way many crevasses form.  If you fall into a crevasse and the fall doesn't kill you then you may be trapped in the tapering of the walls at the bottom of the crevasse.  The weight of your fall and the body heat you create can wedge you in and then melt you into place like a popsicle.  Many people have died in those circumstances.
 
Around Dave's shoulder is about 10 meters of rope for rescue purposes. The other end is tied to his buddy who is normally ten meters away and he also has 10 meters over his shoulder. The harness around his waist is tied into the rope with carabenas and two small prussic ropes tied to the main rope. He also has on his SAR (Search and Rescue) back pack, just in case. Temperature was probably about -25 to -40 degrees Celsius. Hard to say; it was just bitterly cold.
 
Polar tents

Polar tents. They are designed to fit 2 people comfortably, 3 people awkwardly, and 4 people intimately
 
The polar tents we use are like a Tee Pee. They have a solid pole (which is never removed) down each of the four sides, vent holes around the top and when you want to set them up you just stand them up and spread out the tent pole base; really simple. Then all you do is put in a waterproof floor covering and your tent is almost complete. The tents have flaps on the bottom so that you can shovel snow on and stop the wind getting under it. They also have strong guy wires all around to stop the tent from blowing away in even the worst of storms.
 
The tents have an inner and an outer layer to stop heat loss, and the material they are made from is not waterproof . No need to be waterproof in a place that is drier than the Sahara Desert at about 2 percent humidity . The Polar tents don't fold down very much. The solid poles hinge at the top, so you still get to transport a full length tent. This is not a problem because it all goes onto the long sledge. Same with all the other gear, ie, food boxes, shovels, kitchen equipment, etc.
 
One of the biggest problems is ventilation. If you have to cook your meals inside the tent, which is often the case if the weather turns bad, without fresh air you would soon get carbon monoxide poisoning. This will put you to sleep for good and after that the weather outside stops becoming an issue. To stop this, there are tubes that poke through the top of the tent and allow fresh air to come in. When putting up the tent you must always make sure that these are not obstructed. If you look really closely at the inside of a New Zealand polar tent wall you will see (in pen) the word KERO. This is to tell people which side of the entrance (between the outer and inner layers) to store the fuel for the Primus cooker. This is reasonably important because accidents do happen, and you don't want to get fuel over any of your gear as it will lose its thermal insulation properties. The chill rate is 25 times faster if you get wet.

Snow cave, and the beginnings of a compact kitchen  

Summer field training.  The hole in the snow leads to a cave big enough to sleep 4. Beside me is the food box, kitchen cooking equipment box, and utensils box.  Not forgetting the shovel used to make any critical kitchen building alterations.
As you can see its just like regular camping out, but just a little bit more thought has to go into your survival.
How do you make a snow cave ??.   Get all your survival gear packs and stuff. Through it into a big heap, then shovel the snow from around the sides of the pile up onto the heap.  Keep doing this until the mound is well covered in a thick layer of snow then pack it down to create a hard shell. Then, from the wind sheltered side of the dome, start digging an entrance, down under and up into the middle of the dome where all the bags etc. are.  When you reach the bags pull them out of the hole through the entrance you have just made. Then tidy it up a bit with a shovel and suddenly you have made yourself a snow cave.  This is only one example of how to make a snow cave.  Another way is to cut a trench in the snow and then build little cubby holes to sleep in above the floor level.  Not forgetting to create a roof with some covers etc.   Depending on how urgently you need shelter from the elements and the situation you are faced with will determine the final outcome and what you create, i.e. essential shelter or a 4 star accommodation.

Sledding
 
    

Herm ridding a Tamworth Sledge,

  Sledge being towed by a skidoo  

We all got turns at riding on the back of the Tamworth sledge. Even though it is being towed by a skidoo, it still helps if someone is on the back giving some sort of steering as it will wander around a bit if left to its own devices. Steering is done by leaning from one side to the other and hoping it will go in the direction you want it to. There is even a small break at the back. Its more like a piece of pliable wood with a metal tongue on it that digs into the snow when you step on it. Very simple at taking the edge off your speed when following the towing vehicle down-hill.

Dogs
 A small side note:.. We don't have any dogs down at Scott Base or McMurdo any more as they are not required due to the reliability of vehicles these days. They are also environmentally unfriendly. They were fed on a diet heavy with seal meat and food scrapes from the large kitchen at McMurdo. The seals used were very old bull seals that where deemed to be past any usefulness. This kept the dogs in good shape compared to other meats which they tried to use, but it was frowned upon to go shooting any seals. The seal meat also stank, and I'm told it was never the nicest of jobs for the dog handler. The reasons to get rid of the dogs were far greater than the need to keep them. The dogs from Scott Base went to a good home (in Minnesota , I think) and  where still used to tow sleds. The offspring of some of the dogs even returned to Antarctica for a special trek across the ice a few years ago.  The average life span of a working dog was about 9 years maximum, because the cold made them prone to arthritis and a few other problems.   The type of dogs 'preferred' where the  ones that constantly freed themselves of snow and ice instead of letting it build up, which would result in the loss of large clumps of hair when they decided to have a scratch.
 The antarctic dogs where big and  enjoyed the great outdoors.  You would seldom see them trying to find shelter unless it was the worst antarctic weather you could imagine.  The also smelled real bad which didn't do much for them living indoors even if they wanted to.

 
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This page last updated 9-3-01  
Re- Edited by Shirley Baston Fred - [email protected] - ICQ # 15167279